Officials Looking for Sailboat; Search Still on for Parents, Kidnapped Kids

Thursday

Apr 4, 2013 at 11:04 PMApr 5, 2013 at 12:56 PM

TAMPA | Authorities are looking for a sailboat purchased by the father of two boys missing after they were taking from their grandmother's home earlier this week.

By Trevor PettifordBAY NEWS 9

TAMPA | Authorities are looking for a sailboat purchased by the father of two boys missing after they were taking from their grandmother's home earlier this week.

Authorities say Joshua Michael Hakken, 35, recently purchased the sailboat, a 25-foot 1972 Morgan with a blue bimini top. The mainsail, boat deck and cabin are white, the hull is blue with “Salty” and a paw print in white written on both sides with a white stripe near water line bearing the word Flo.

Thursday evening, officials located the vehicle they believe the boys were traveling in with their parents. The 2006 GMC pickup truck belonging to the family was located in the John's Pass Parking Garage located at 12901 Gulf Blvd in Madeira Beach.

Officials said the vehicle was located after receiving a tip.

Authorities said the find may yield clues that will lead to locating where the family is now.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, which set up a command post at its Falkenburg Road office to receive calls and tips regarding the case, said it is following numerous leads. The Amber Alert has expanded to nearby states Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.

The children's mother, 34-year-old Sharyn Patricia Hakken, is now believed to be with them.

Chase Hakken is 3 feet tall, weighs 33 pounds, has brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing pajamas. Cole Hakken is 3 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 44 pounds, has brown hair and brown eyes. He also was last seen wearing pajamas.

Deputies spent Wednesday afternoon and evening at the parents' home, searching for any clues that might indicate where they would go. Detectives said the parents should be considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with any information is asked to call 911 or to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at 813- 247-8200.

According to authorities, Hakken was involved in an attempted armed abduction of their children previously in Louisiana.

Officials said they have so far been able to determine that Joshua Hakken was arrested in a hotel on multiple drug charges in St. Tammany Parrish, La., where he had just attended some type of anti-government rally.

Slidell police say were called to the hotel in June in reference to a disturbance involving the Hakkens. Police say when they arrived the parents were acting in a bizarre manner that alarmed officers.

Police say they were talking about “completing their ultimate journey” and were traveling across the country to “take a journey to the Armageddon.” Police say both of the children were present in the hotel at the time.

Police say based on the parents’ behavior and the fact narcotics and weapons were inside the hotel room, officers called the Office of Child Services, who determined the children were in danger and needed to be taken into custody and temporarily placed in a foster home.

"This is not really about anti-government at this point," said David Couvertier, FBI. "Individual beliefs, people in our country should believe in whatever you want to believe in. It's the manner in which the kids have been taken is what concerns law enforcement and the reason we've taken the steps we have taken."

Joshua Hakken was placed under arrest and charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and the use of a controlled and dangerous substance in the presence of minors. Officers also took custody of the guns.

Two weeks later, police say they were notified Joshua Hakken had shown up at the foster family home with a firearm demanding the return of his children. The foster parents called 911 and police say Hakken fled without his children.